As the chair of Plymouth’s Affordable Housing Trust, I was very disappointed that the Planning Board chair, Mr. Steve Bolotin, voted against the affordable units proposed for the corner of South Street and Braley Lane. I thought Mr. Bolotin supported affordable housing.
This proposal was modified several times by the developer, Rick Vayo, to satisfy the concerns of the Planning Board and neighbors.
I would like Plymouth residents to consider the following:
Is Mr. Vayo the only contractor consistently building affordable housing in Plymouth? Yes, he is.
Does Mr. Vayo build quality rental homes, create a fair marketing process, and manage those rentals well? Yes, he does.
Does Mr. Vayo finish these projects on time and within the budget agreed upon? Yes, he does.
Are these homes needed for working people, such as young teachers, police, firefighters, and the elderly? Yes, desperately.
Is this affordable housing for truly low-income people? No, but there is a desperate need for that too, and a portion of these units were allocated at a lower rent.
Will this decision encourage other builders to invest the time to create affordable housing in the Town of Plymouth? A resounding no.
Remember the phrase “not in my backyard” (NIMBY) when you evaluate why affordable housing decisions are so controversial and why the AHT and the Community Preservation Committee struggle to reach Plymouth’s 10 percent state mandate for affordable housing, which, if achieved would allow us to limit the large 40B projects that will continue to be built in Plymouth.
The chair of the Planning Board should know better and since Mr. Bolotin is the spokesperson for Plymouth creating a land bank with a stated purpose toward affordable housing, this decision also causes me to question his motivations and the intent of the proposed land bank.
– Kathleen Dunn